Episode 24: Dragon's Trial

The city became busy within moments. News of my fight against Eothaniss' son, Inozkez, spread like a wildfire and was the talk of the entire city of Khonrigek.

"A story of a human who entered Khonrigek and challenged the Dragonlords themselves in a request for tutelage. It's quite bold to assume I waltzed in here unscathed..." I muttered to myself as I waited for the battle to begin. "Back in an arena when I just got out of one after nearly dying to a god, and now I'm fighting the son of a Dragonlord who stands at one of the pinnacles of mortal power. Could be worse, honestly."

I sighed after my rant and stood up, stretching. I hadn't heard from Orebrul since we had arrived in Nuhevom even though I could feel his presence within the ring.

Come on, man, what are you doing in there? I need you...

I didn't let my thoughts sour my mood, however, and I walked towards the openening doors leading to the arena.

As I walked through the door, my eyes were blasted with the sunlight, and when they finally adjusted to allow my sight to return, I was shocked at the sheer magnitude of the arena.

It was easily 2 or 3 times bigger than the arena in Nova city, with over twice the people in the seats. Sat high above were Kayndarth, Erentiss, and Eothaniss, each with a different expression. Kayndarth had a curious yet excited look, Erentiss had a look of 'I don't really give a shit', and Eothaniss had a rather disgusted look aimed directly into my eyes and soul.

I sighed and shook my head as I stood ready. Glancing at the rack of weapons, I walked past and didn't touch the set of clearly fine crafted weapons.

I need to do this with my own power...

Inozkez gave me a wry smile and nodded to me. I carefully watched as he took out a dagger. The same dagger he had before. A gleaming ruby encrusted dagger with little crackles of red lightning along the edges of the two blades. Inozkez gripped it with two hands and effortlessly pulled it apart, which extended it into a spear with 2 sharp edges, making it a fine and extremely deadly weapon.

"Quite the weapon you've got," I pointed out as I nodded at his spear.

"I know, Father gave it to me. Are you really going barehanded?" He asked with a puzzled look that would have mirrored my own in his situation.

"Yeah, I need to do this battle with my own power... I have things to prove, that's all," I responded as I prepared myself.

"Very well... I won't go easy on you," he retorted with a smile.

"Good... I wouldn't have expected you to do so," I countered. I could let loose here since no one knew about artefacts except for the three Dragonlords.

Empowering the ring, I cast {Lightning Body}, and my limbs crackled with blue lightning. I lowered my stance and prepared for the fight. A smile spread across my lips.

A roar from one of the dragonlords, I couldn't tell which one, sounded the beginning of the fight, and I could hear quieter and higher pitched roars and cheers from the thousands and thousands of dragonkin who were present.

Inozkez rushed at me with air-rippling speed, and I found the blade rushing towards my neck. I felt the ring burn a sensation into my brain and into my eyes.

[This guy is an enemy!]

I amplified the level of mana into my skill,{Lightning Body}, and my speed increased. My reflexes sharpened to just a few milliseconds, and I avoided the slash to my neck. The average human thinking time is around a couple of milliseconds... I have to go even faster!

I charged my brain with electricity, a double-edged sword. On one hand, it would improve my thinking speeds and reflexes to nigh-godly levels of time. On the other hand, I could accidentally fry my brain and leave myself crippled.

But now wasn't the time for doubts. Taking risks is a part of life... and I'll be damned before I let fear cloud my mind!

My vision clarified, and I could see every single one of Inozkez's movements. I'd done it. My reactions and reflexes had narrowed down to microseconds. I swatted away his blade and activated {Miracle Eye}.

I saw the mana flow within him. From his chest, to his arms, down to his hands, and then to the spear. I saw the key points, and using my lightning quick movements, I jabbed towards a point in his arm.

I was too slow.

I felt a cold pressure behind me. Death.

What the-?! I didn't have much time to think as my body acted alone and ducked the arced slash from behind me that cut off a few hairs off the top of my head.

He's way too fast! This is ridiculous!

Inozkez thrusted towards my thigh, and I sidestepped out the way, but not quick enough. I felt a sharp pain in my leg as the blade had caught me slightly and drew blood. I threw a punch towards his sternum, but he blocked with his spear shaft. I felt the same cold feeling as I saw his eyes. Focused. Determined. And clearer to me than to anyone else here... he was ready to kill if necessary.

The ring pulsed again with heat that I found it odd. I let the feeling take over, and suddenly, my body exploded into a flurry of different elements. A raging storm of lightning, frost and flames swirled around me, knocking Inozkez away from me, his eyes now wide.

What is this? I didn't know I could activate multiple skills at once in this way...

I could feel the raw power in my brain and behind my eyes. Turning my head to look at Inozkez, I grinned widely and raised a hand. "Now let's have some fun," I said.

In the blink of an eye, both me and Inozkez entered into a clash of red and blue. Lightning broke off and crashed everywhere around us as we threw blow after blow. I zipped around his back, and using a fist blazing with fire, I landed a strike into the centre of his back. Inozkez was sent crashing into the wall. He instantly got out of the broken wall and retaliated with a flurry of thrusts and a whirlwind of slashes.

I wasn't quick enough to keep up, and cuts began appearing all over my body. I fired a barrage of icicles, and he backed away. I activated {Icicle} again and shot out spikes of ice from the floor that jutted out towards his feet. Inozkez reacted instantly, and in a quick spin from his spear, he shattered the ice and landed safely on the floor.

We both stood, panting, and stared at one another. Cuts lined my arm and legs. A small hole had been created in my shoulder from a thrust of his spear, and I had to fuel {Regeneration} to heal it quicker due to the level of damage that had occurred.

I wiped blood off my face, which reappeared thanks to a few shallow cuts along my cheeks, and looked around at the spectators. They were all wide-eyed and buzzing with excitement. Smiles littered the stands, and I looked up at the dragonlords who, to my surprise, were actually watching with true interest.

My hand moved down my leg, and I touched the band Jessica had given to me, still in my pocket, and I relaxed immediately.

I promise I'll come back... I won't let those bastards up above have you or anyone else, I swore to myself.

I straightened myself out and took a deep breath. My mana reserves were just below half, and I wouldn't be able to keep up this triple-elemental form for much longer. Then, an idea formed inside my head.

I don't have long, and I'm not sure I can even do this properly, especially with these levels of reserves... screw it.

I began activating a bunch of skills at once. My mana reserves began depleting at an alarming rate, but I had no choice if I was going to win this fight and prove I was as strong as I claimed.

{Runic Author} , {Apply} ,

{Destructive Aura III} , {Lightning Fist},

{Fire Fist}, {Frost Fist}!

I felt the surge of power coursing through me as I activated every single one of those skills in rapid succession. My body blazed to life, and my power soared as my mana plummeted.

I exerted as hard of a pressure as I could, through {Destructive Aura III}, such that I could keep Inozkez stationery for as long as possible. I saw his knees buckle, and I took that opportunity.

Channelling mana into my only arm, I cast a strength rune, swirled the three elements around my fist simultaneously, and applied a protective barrier around it, I rushed towards the currently pinned down Inozkez.

In moments, I'd cleared the distance due to {Stalker}, and I reeled back my arm and struck with as much force as my battered body could generate in an uppercut.

The result exceeded my expectations.

The combination of the three destructive elements and the strength rune, along with the aura I was producing, all colluded together to create a powerful blow that could only be described as a true final move.

An explosion unlike anything I'd ever seen of fire, ice and lightning blasted the arena, and the force of the strike caused the air pressure to drop significantly within the arena, further causing violent winds to kick up and blow everyone's hats, cloaks and belongings away. A column of wind shot in the direction of my punch and blasted a gaping hole into the stadium's overarching ceiling, which happened to be right next to Eothaniss.

I didn't have time to think of the consequences as I fell to my knees, losing my ability to move and having no more mana. I saw Inozkez buried in his father's clawed hand.

At least he's safe... I don't think... Eothaniss... will...

I couldn't finish the thought as I passed out and fell flat onto the cold arena floor.

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A mix of hot and cold messed with my body, and I woke up in a sweat that couldn't be described as hot or cold. I saw the three dragons, Kayndarth, Erentiss, and Eothaniss, all stood above me, looking at me.

"That... was an interesting way to win," Erentiss said with a wry smile. Well, as much as a dragon could smile.

"Thanks? Is that supposed to be a compliment?" I asked warily. I didn't bother sitting up and just stared up at the ceiling.

"More of an observation," replied Kayndarth, his large, red scaled head, looming over me as his scarlet eyes looked at me warmly.

"So... did I pass your 'test'?" I questioned, sitting up as I did so.

"I suppose so, though Eothaniss is not very... pleased... with how you handled that final blow against his son," Kayndarth replied with a low chuckle. I smiled gently and looked at Eothaniss.

"Well? Are you satisfied with my strength?"

"Only time will tell if you can do as you claim... defeat the Gods that is," Eothaniss replied, "for now, however, we will... we will tutor you in our ways and guide you in your ascension into the destructive elements."

"I thank you." I bowed slightly to the three of them.

I could feel the gazes of the three dragonlords resting on my missing arm and decided to take the initiative. "If you think it will hinder me... you're dead wrong," I stated firmly.

Eothaniss let a grin spread across his face for the first time so far. "I like your guts, human boy... then show us, just what a human with your kind of grit can do!"

---------------- 6 months later

Lightning crackled through the air and gathered in a large, draconic jaw. Lined with hundreds of teeth ready to rip and shred anything that dared near them. A beam of unbridled power and destruction shot out of the jaw straight at me. However, in a quick step, I dodged the initial attack. The beam didn't disappear, though, and followed me around. My body crackled with purple lightning, and I condensed the power into my hand.

Spinning and flickering in and out of a state of lightning was difficult. It would have been difficult around 2 months ago. Now was a different story. In a quick flash, I stepped right up to the jaw of raw power and unleashed a beam of pure, purple lightning.

The beam was at least a few feet in diameter, not as large as the one trying to vaporise me but still big enough. The black scaled jaw shut instantly, and yellow eyes pierced me. I unleashed a powerful and forceful pressure that sent the head that contained those eyes straight into the ground.

I landed on top of the scaly head and looked down at the eyes. My almost waist length, jet-black hair waved in the wind that had been kicked up during the skirmish.

"Finally... a victory for me, eh, old man?" I panted with a beaming grin on my face. I felt a laugh escape from the jaws beneath me and, while still stood atop its head, the dragon raised its head.

"True. You have won. However, that is the first time you have won in... how many matches? Is that now 1 win and 247 losses?" He replied with a smug smirk.

"Shut up! This is only going to get higher from now on!" I retorted.

"Pipe down, you two. Look at the damage you caused!" Erentiss shouted as he landed deftly beside us. His wings of frozen ice blew a cold breeze across me, and I cooled down instantly. I gave him a small cheeky salute.

"Cheers for the cool down," I said gratefully.

"No worries," Erentiss replied, shaking his giant head. "You two need to relax a little more. Especially you Lough," he continued.

I waved a hand dismissively, "I know, I know. But surely you would understand my feelings right now, right?"

Erentiss laughed and nodded slowly, "I do. You have gained strength in these past 6 months quicker than any of us could have anticipated."

"Hey guys! Come on, it's time!" Kayndarth bellowed, high above us.

My eyes widened, and I looked at each of the three dragonlords. "It is?!"

They all nodded, and Eothaniss rose to his feet. In just a few beats of his wings, we were airborne and flying at a speed that was at least mach 3, towards Khonrigek. In just a few seconds, we arrived from a faraway and empty training field, now destroyed thanks to me and Eothaniss, to the centre of Khonrigek, the capital of the Supaenid Empire.

We landed, and I hopped off of Eothaniss' large scaly back and onto the floor. The three of them flew into the large throne room that I had entered on my first day here.

This brings back memories... I wish you were here to experience them with me... Orebrul... I thought silently, and my mood soured a bit.

Orebrul had been dormant and silent since my incident with the God of Lightning back in Nova. I wasn't sure what was wrong with him, whether he was hibernating or deep in trauma or what. But I was certain he was still there. I closed my eyes and dived into the ring. I felt the soft and comforting presence of my companion within the depths of the ring, and my heart rate slowed to a gentle and calm pulse. A calm sensation washed over me as I thought about Orebrul and all the stories I'd have for him.

During the six months since arriving in Khonrigek, the three Dragonlords: Kayndarth, Erentiss, and Eothaniss had all trained me till I dropped unconscious, which had been quite a few times. They had drilled fighting techniques and magic and mana usage into my brain so that I would be ready to fight anything.

They had provided me with artefacts and special concoctions made by the dragonkin elders that boosted my mana reserves and helped with my concentration.

Within the past months, I had gained a multitude of new skills thanks to the sacrifice of the artefacts. The three dragons had been amazed when I'd first sacrificed an artefact in front of them. I'd explained my abilities to them, and that was when they decided it would be best if my training was significantly more intense to make me the best I could possibly be.

I had gained a decent amount of skills, and I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the archive and checked my list:

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New Skills:

○ Skill: {Green Flames}[Inc predecessors]

○ Skill: {Blood Ice}

○ Master Skill: {Blizzard}

○ Master Skill: {Lightning Storm}

○ Passive: {Purple lightning}

○ Skill: {Destructive Aura IV}

○ Skill: {Telekinesis}

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Path: Destruction

Artificial Points: 0

Available skills:

○ Skill: {Blue Flames}

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All I had left was the flame colours. After that was the master spell for fire, which was called 'Hellfire'. The archive had also revealed what was the final stage of the path:

○ Ultimate Skill: {Meteor Rain}

After gaining all 3 master spells, I had to claim an ultimate spell that I would obtain at the end of my path. Today was the day that I unlocked all the remaining spells, not including the ultimate spell. Despite being allies for a while now, the dragons didn't want to be responsible for me owning a spell that could potentially destroy a city in the event that the Gods gained control of me. I wasn't planning on letting that happen, however.

I was still missing an arm. However, the dent in my hip had slowly regained its natural curve thanks to some healing from the dragonkin alongside my own regeneration.

Today... I finally become stronger enough to protect everyone... I won't let what happened in Nova happen again... ever.

That I swear upon!

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